Belong to Me, By Marisa De Los Santos

Belong To Me is a novel following three characters who live in suburban Philadelphia. Cornelia is an artsy self proclaimed city girl, who just moved to the suburbs with her husband, Teo. She is not sure if she belongs, especially when the neighbors' first impressions of her are less than ideal. Piper is a self proclaimed WASP with a husband, two children, and a perfect home, who appears very shallow and judgmental of everyone around her. Dev is an intelligent teenager, whose single mother uprooted him from California without explanation and drove him across the country to the Philadelphia suburbs. Without revealing too much of the story, the characters deal with difficult transitions, loss of loved ones, and how families can adjust and make room for new members.

Belong to Me was an excellent novel, with characters that you empathize with and grow to love. The storyline is woven well, although at times I couldn't wait for another chapter told by Dev's point of view. The beginning was a little hard to get into, because the first three chapters, as told by different characters, did not feel very cohesive, but that soon changed as the story began to intertwine. It tells a story about families, and how they can survive and flourish even if they are not the most traditional. The story tells us that people make mistakes, but they can be rectified, and life goes on, even after the most dire circumstances.

This novel was beautifully told, and captivated me after the first three chapters. I had picked this one out not knowing anything about it, other than what the cover looked like. I would highly recommend it, and if you read it, let me know what you think!